Heaven, who joined United from Arsenal in January for a fee of £1 million, was making only his third appearance for the club. ..Continue Reading
With several defensive absences, including Lisandro Martinez, Jonny Evans, Harry Maguire, and Leny Yoro, Heaven was given the chance to step into Ruben Amorim’s defensive line.
Unfortunately, the young centre-back sustained an injury during the 3-0 victory over Leicester City. Early in the second half, he awkwardly fell following a challenge with Patson Daka, immediately showing signs of discomfort.
The match was paused for five minutes as Heaven received medical attention before being carried off the pitch and replaced by Toby Collyer.
Sky Sports opted not to air replays of the incident, which occurred during the 18-year-old’s first-ever Premier League start.
“Well, we have to evaluate during the week,” Amorim told Sky Sports afterwards.
“He’s a young kid, he doesn’t know how to explain what he’s feeling, so it’s hard for us to know something.”
Details on the exact injury Heaven suffered were scarce due to the lack of replays but on X, @physioscout revealed new information about the defender’s problem.
According to the account, it seems his left ankle may have been caught, with the most probable result being a lateral ankle sprain. If it turns out to be a grade three injury, the maximum recovery period could extend to six weeks.
In the worst-case scenario, an X-ray might reveal a lower leg fracture, which would require a recovery period of at least six weeks.
“Ayden Heaven had to come off early in the second-half for Manchester United with a lower leg injury,” the account wrote, accompanied by a zoomed in image.
“Very limited replays, as the match director chose not to show any extra footage. A little bit difficult to give a full breakdown. But from the live match, it looks like the left ankle gets trapped underneath Daka’s challenge.
“Usually, a less worrying mechanism, with a lateral ankle sprain being the most likely result. However, a lower leg fracture will also need to be cleared by X-Rays.”
Though he did not post on his feed, just after 11pm Heaven left a comment on Hojlund’s post on Instagram after he found the net & ended his recent goal drought. He wrote: “Deserved”.
